Best before vs. use by: the two dates sit in the same spot on the label and get read as the same thing, but they are not. One is a quality guideline you can override with your own judgement; the other is a safety limit you shouldn't push. Mix them up and you either bin good food or keep risky food a day too long.
The use-by date is the safety line
A use-by date is the important one. As the UK's Food Standards Agency puts it: "Use-by dates on food labels tell you when the food is no longer safe to eat." And bluntly: "Eating food after the use-by date could make you ill" (FSA). You'll find it on the most perishable foods — meat and ready-to-eat salads, for example. Don't eat these after the date, even if they look fine.
Best before is only about quality
A best-before date is about quality, not safety: "The best before date tells you when the food might start to reduce in quality," and "after the best before date, the food is usually safe to eat but may not be of the same quality" (FSA). It appears on frozen, dried, canned foods and hard cheese.
| Use-by | Best before | |
|---|---|---|
| Means | Safety | Quality |
| After the date | Do not eat — risk of illness | Usually still safe; quality may drop |
| Typical foods | Meat, ready-to-eat salads | Frozen, dried, canned, cheese |
You can freeze to beat a use-by date
The FSA confirms a useful workaround: you can freeze food right up to the use-by date. At −18°C food doesn't deteriorate, so freezing effectively pauses the clock. Once you thaw it, treat it as fresh and eat it within 24 hours.
In the US, dating is mostly voluntary
American labels work differently. The USDA is explicit: "Except for infant formula, product dating is not required by Federal regulations." Those voluntary dates signal quality, which is why the FSIS recommends the phrase "Best if Used By" — it "indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date" (USDA FSIS). The one exception is infant formula, which carries a mandatory Use-By date under FDA rules.
General information, not health advice. Where a food carries a use-by date, respect it — the risk after that date can't be seen, smelled or tasted. Best-before foods can be judged on quality, but when in doubt, throw it out.
Two dates, one habit
It comes down to a single habit: respect every use-by, and stop throwing out best-before food you were only unsure about. Expiroo keeps the date on each item in front of you and flags it while there's still time to act.